Brother? Or Son?
by OnceUponASunsetDream
Summary: Spoilers for 'Black mirror' comic. Just a heads up in case you care. Jim Gordon was grateful for the Waynes opening a lab, available for the police to use but with Bruce away in Bali he was shown around by Dick Grayson, and shown just how well the kid he once knew had stepped up to take Bruce's place as head of the family.


**Hey again. I am on a roll aren't I? ideas are just flowing to me! (Although, they don't get any further than one chapter. Yet. I ****_will_**** do it. Eventually.) **  
**I just finished the 'Black Mirror' comic and it was awesome but I wanted to slot Damian into a few more of the civilian side of things so I gave it a go. I found this scene intriguing as it showed Dick working with Jim Gordon outside of the Batman cowl and I found that particularly interesting. (And yes, for those of you who have read the comic, I know I haven't finished the scene properly but to tell you the truth I forgot about what happened in the end and after I read it again I realised that it doesn't really fit in with my story. but it doesn't matter. It's Fanfiction, I can do what I want!)**

**I know it's said a lot but Read and Review please, I love reading what people have to say about my stories. **

**Unfortunately I don't own Batman! Woe is me.**

oOo

Commissioner James 'Jim' Gordon sighed heavily and ran a hand roughly through his hair. This had been a damn long week. Or was it more than that? He wasn't sure anymore. First of all Batman had changed. He knew, he just knew that it was a different one. He suspected that perhaps Robin, the first one who became Nightwing, had taken on the mantle of the Bat and he shuddered to think why the first protégé had to take over in the first place.

Then that poor kid had been drugged by some kind of Killer Croc mutagen and left in a coma while his rich neglectful mother was under mind control. A couple of ex-cops had stolen practically an entire evidence collection and then they were killed by the people they'd been working for. And to top it off his estranged son had returned to Gotham and had begun to drive a wedge between himself and his daughter. But had he really changed or was it all an act? Barbara thought so. Barbara had always been a bit…disturbed by his son and to tell the truth, he didn't really blame her. James had been an odd child.

Which brought him back to his latest problem. The break in at the Gotham Bank that hadn't been caught on CCTV and when the cameras had been turned on again a freaking killer whale had been lying dead on the floor of the large room. He was now in the doorway of that frankly incredible lab that the Waynes had opened and invited the police to use. He had to admit the lab was impressive, the best that money could buy yet most of the Force were too proud to use it, seeing it as merely charity.

When Jim entered the lab Dick Grayson or Richard Wayne to the public was standing beside the massive table that was holding the whale, face lit by the pale blue screens, showing the examination of the animal. He took the moment to examine the boy-man. He remembered the tiny kid who had always been bouncing along beside Barbara with an mischievous grin and then the scrawny teen who was still growing into his limbs, tripping over his feet and smiling shyly at him as he came to pick Jim's daughter up for prom. Now Dick had really grown into himself, broad, strong shoulders, just as tall as his adoptive father and the muscles of one who trained daily.

"So camera-shy bad guys in Gotham…at least they're original." Dick was saying absently as he jabbed at the screen. "Let's fire up this bad boy and see what we see."

Jim moved forward, holding up a hand for emphasis. "You know, I'd be remiss if I didn't say thanks to all you Waynes for opening your doors to the G.C.P.D. yet again."

Dick shrugged, turning his head to smile slightly at him. "Don't be silly, Commissioner. It's just nice to see the department finally coming around."

Gordon shook his head, looking away slightly. "Dick, I was just saying thank you, from me. G.C.P.D. wanted to process the whale at County, but the sad truth is the lab there it couldn't handle the damn thing." he felt almost ashamed at the state of the labs they would usually have had to have used if it weren't for the Waynes.

"Ouch." Dick murmured, eyes fixed on the screen, face lit an eerie blue. "Let's keep that one from Bruce. He's not a man used to throwing parties no one shows up to, if you know what I mean." he grinned wryly at the commissioner before turning back to the screen. "Okay, here we go. According to the computer…" he moved around the computer and gently stroked along the underside of the whale's massive jaw. "…this lovely lady most likely hails from the balmy and beautiful Siberian sea and clocks in at forty-three feet long and four point two tons in weight-which is abnormally large for a female orca. No record of her in captivity, but the collapsed dorsal fin suggests that someone was keeping her caged."

"Tt." a young voice hissed from behind them and Gordon noticed Dick's eyes closing in resignation. "I thought that would have been obvious, Grayson. It is most probable that the beast was kept as a pet for someone obscenely wealthy. Most likely fed growth hormones."

"Thank you, Damian." Dick sighed as the youngest and only biological Wayne child came into view from the back of the room and stood beside his brother, looking up at the whale. "I don't know if you've met, Commissioner. This is my youngest brother, Damian."

"Hello Damian." Jim said politely, holding out his hand for the boy to shake. Damian's deep blue eyes looked from his face to his hand, the beginnings of a sneer starting on his young face but then Dick nudged him and the younger looked up at his brother who stared meaningfully at him. Damian sighed and took the hand, unenthusiastically but still shaking the offered hand with a strong grip. "Nice kid." Jim said wryly to Dick who rolled his eyes, flinging an arm around his brother's shoulders and Damian growled slightly.

"Tell me about it." he ruffled Damian's dark hair and gave him a gentle push towards the desk where he had been sitting before. "Off you go, Dami. You have to finish your homework and write a letter to your teacher. Again." he sighed. "Maybe we should try home-schooling."

"You said I needed the 'social interaction', Grayson." Damian huffed. "The teachers at that school are plebeian imbeciles."

"No they're not, Dami. Go on. Back to work." Damian turned on his heel and stalked back off to the desk and rifled through the papers, fiddling with a pen in his hand.

"What happened? Shouldn't he be in school?" the mention of homework and teachers had reminded him that it was midday on a Thursday.

Dick nodded slowly, watching Damian carefully his worried expression making him look far older than he actually was. "He was suspended for fighting. Again. And for insulting his teachers. Again." he heaved a sigh. "God, what am I gonna do with him?"

"Where's his father?" Jim asked. Why was the man's eldest raising the boy instead of the man himself?

"Away on business." Dick said, eyeing the boy again. "He's been gone a while."

"Is that why you gave up the badge?"

Dick shrugged. "Partially. When Bruce left, I had to take over the business, yes but I only really need to look out for Dami. Tim's in college and only home on the weekends. He and Dami don't get on." he said in explanation. "Oh it's not that bad." he added as Jim must have looked disbelieving.

Jim snorted. "I am a father." he said. "I know how hard it is, kid."

Dick shook his head doggedly. "I'm not his dad, I'm his brother." he laughed slightly as if the whole idea was preposterous.

Jim smiled a little sadly. "I think that maybe you're the closest thing to a father that boy has ever known."

They both looked over at Damian who was hunched over the desk. He must have sensed them looking for he turned and scowled at them but his face softened into an almost-smile, perhaps the closest he ever got to a real smile, when he looked at Dick. Dick grinned and gave a little wave and Damian's mouth twitched faintly before he scowled again and looked back down to his work. "Thank you." Dick whispered to Jim, flushing faintly. He coughed and turned back to the screens and the whale.

The two returned to work, the screens displaying the results of the scans on the whale: size, weight, colouring and markings. It wasn't long until they had all the information they could possible gather and Jim stretched his back, hearing the satisfying crack as he gathered the papers to take with him. "Thanks for this, Dick." he said, shaking hands with the Wayne heir who smiled and nodded.

"It's no problem." Dick assured him. "You're welcome here any time."

Jim smiled again as he left the room, pausing at the door as he heard Damian call for 'Grayson' and Dick move across the room to join him at the desk. He watched as Dick leant on the back of Damian's chair to look over the boy's shoulder, pointing out some mistakes on the page and gently correcting them. The boy didn't bristle as Jim thought he would but nodded, fixing the problems and leaning back in his chair. Damian's cheek brushed against Dick's and the elder huffed a laugh kissing the boy's cheek, pulling back and ruffling Damian's hair as the boy snarled and batted at the offending hand. But Jim could see the faint colour in his cheeks and the small smile on his lips.

Yes. Dick would be a good father and he was demonstrating it now with his brother-son who seemed particularly prickly. Dick would certainly prove to be an excellent father and when or if Bruce Wayne returned, James Gordon would be the first to tell him so.

oOo

**And done! Tada!**

**so what do you think? it's not as cheesy or as depressing as some of my other Batman ones but it was a spur of the moment so maybe it is weird. I only read over it once for editing and it is now midnight and I can barely think straight after having a before school class as well as a full five period day. Sleep beckons. Adieu. (Is that how you say it?)**


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